History

The History of Celbridge Community Council

• provide a public amenity and recreational facility for the people of Celbridge
• provide services to the aged in our community
• monitor the planning and physical development of Celbridge

As the population grew exponentially over the years, the objectives of Celbridge Community Council evolved and adapted to the needs of the town.

Celbridge Community Council initially pursued a site for a community centre on the Clane Road. The cost of acquiring the proposed site and actually building a community centre there were prohibitively large.  Celbridge Commuity Council recognised an opportunity when The Mill closed in 1982 and convened a public meeting. Attendees of the public meeting agreed to enter into negotiations to purchase the Mill premises.  Celbridge Community Council subsequently commissioned a feasibility study which found that The Mill was suitable for development as a community leisure, enterprise and sports centre.

• £70,000 that was raised through Celbridge Community Council's fundraising in the preceding years and
• a commercial loan for the balance.

Members of Celbridge Community Countil formed a new company limited by guarantee in order to secure the loan for £100,000. Five members of Celbridge Community Council became directors of the new company and acted as guarantors of the loan. In addition to the cost of purchasing the Mill, a further working capital loan was secured to undertake renovations. Participants in state training and employment agencies such as ANCO/FAS assisted with the restoration and conversion work.

The overall responsibility for the Mill today rests with the directors, management committee and staff of Celbridge Community Centre CLG. The management committee including its five directors are all volunteers and a professional team of paid staff manages the day to day operations. All profits from the operation of The Mill Celbridge Community Centre are reinvested in the development of the centre and in the maintenance of the historical buildings for future generations.

Celbridge Community Council has been at the forefront of addressing, in a voluntary capacity, the social amenity, welfare for older citizens and alleviation of traffic problems whilst representing the  needs of the town.

Celbridge Community Council has provided services to the aged in the surrounding area for over 40 years. These services include:

• Meals on Wheels: Celbridge Community Council obtains partial funding from the HSE for provision of this service, collects a contribution from recipients of the meals and funds any shortfall in the cost of providing the service to the aged in our community
• Winter Fuel: Celbridge Community Council pays Judge Fuels to deliver briquettes to a number of recipients during the winter months.
• Seasonal Gifts: Celbridge Community Council purchases and distributes gift vouchers to aged members of the community every year at Christmas. The gift was a hamper in the past but changed to a gift voucher in recent years.
• Emergency Response Alarms: Celbridge Community Council has administered an emergency response alarm scheme for over 30 years. The current scheme is Pobal's Senior Alert Scheme.

Our Care for the Aged page provides more information on services that Celbridge Community Council currently provides and schemes that Celbridge Community Council is working towards launching soon.

A flavour of some of our campaigns and activities in the past include:

• the commissioning of a plebiscite which resulted in the provision of the Salesian College for boys (1978-1979)
• the commissioning of a report by Patrick Shaffrey, Architect and Town Planner in 1982 to guide Celbridge Community Council in its submissions on development plans
• the organising of meetings in 1991 and 1992 about traffic problems being experienced in the town
• the commissioning of a traffic study by Desmond Rooney in 1992 which found that the an interchange onto the M4 would provide the longest lasting and most cost effective solution to traffic problems in Celbridge
• a campaign for the provision of motorway access to Celbridge from the M4 (1992 - 1994) including the holding of a plebiscite in January 1992 in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, Main St Residents Association, Concerned Parents Group and Combined Residents Association on the need to have an interchange onto the M4 -the vote polled 79% of the electorate with volunteers going door to door with voting papers and sealed ballot boxes. The results showed that 92% of those polled were in favour of an interchange onto the M4
• opposition to the proposed development of a bridge over the River Liffey connecting the Dublin Road to the Main Street at Castletown Gates (1992-1994) as this location is a key urban space which should not be severed by heavy traffic and the location is a sensitive and historic part of Celbridge containing listed buildings that must be preserved
• campaigns for the provision of pedestrian lights on the Main Street and a pedestrian bridge over the River Liffey
• the commissioning of a report by Patrick Shaffrey, Architect and Town Planner in 1999 to analyse planning problems, to assess the Celbridge Draft Development Plan 1999 and to propose guidelines for the future development of Celbridge
• the planning, launch and operation of Celbridge Youth Café which has now been running since 2010
• collaboration with other interested groups on the Celbridge Forum and the Integrated Services Programme (ISP) Celbridge Plan 2016-2020
• running Easter Egg hunts and outdoor cinema events at The Mill